Steven Moen, Minot

I find it incredulous that some prominent property rights advocates who are so called champions of people’s property rights miss the most egregious attack on property rights which is property tax. Property tax affects every citizen in the state, not just the property owners who are fighting the CO2 pipeline.

Property tax increases operating costs for all businesses and farmers which causes the prices of goods that we all buy to increase also. It also reduces the buying power of all citizens as we have to pay the government for the privilege to live in the homes we own or rent. It is akin to paying protection money to the mob and if we don’t make the payments they don’t send enforcers to collect or break arms. They just evict us from our homes and sell them to collect the property tax.

Our founding fathers fought the Revolutionary War to end such taxes. They even put in the 4th amendment to the Constitution which supposedly protects us from unreasonable search and seizures but since when do we follow the Constitution. It also violates the 10th Commandment which says you shall not covet your neighbor’s house, his property… or anything that is your neighbor’s.

I think it’s high time that we get rid of this totally unfair property tax and make the legislature follow the ND Constitution which states that schools which everyone is concerned about shall be paid for by the state. They pay about 70-80% of the school budgets now so picking up the rest would be easy. The rest of the stuff can be easily paid for by the state.

I spent 6 years in the Navy serving on board one of 41 nuclear powered fleet ballistic missile submarines which were collectively known as 41 for freedom, not 41 for more taxes.

We need to throw off the shackles of tax slavery and champion freedom! If we don’t we too can lose our houses and property!